Lines in the Sand
by The Theater of Dreams
Summary: Mistakes are made and the costs are paid. Tenchi's world is shattered when he discovers that the one of the largest biotech firms in the nation holds a secret that could change his life and the fate of the world that he comes to know. AU.


**The Theatre of Dreams   
Lines in the Sand   
Prologue- A Symphony of One / A Lone Harmonica on the Dusty Road  
**  
The steps had always been long. For ages, they had towered to the sky cresting the heavens; however, they had never been as tall and overpowering as this day. Each step laid a heavier burden onto his unsure shoulders, threatening to topple him over into an emotional abyss. His legs nearly buckled under the pressure but somehow he made it up the steps. His stability was threatened, not by physical exertion, but by the heavy weight and the confusion that burdened his mind and soul.  
  
The summit approached him too soon, as the dread of his inevitable actions became greater. What he had tried to avoid and procrastinate had finally proved too much to bear and he had gathered up his pride to lay it on the ground at the top of a mountain.  
  
"Tenchi," a surprised voice murmured. The woman who the voice belonged too stared at him with a gaping mouth and wide eyes. The voice cut his resolve like a sharp blade and the ease of turning around and running away became more and more appealing. He gazed upon the woman that had uttered his name, and felt the disappointment and pain he was about to cause her. He was not sure if she would ever know, but it hurt him much more than it ever could hurt her to betray her trust as he had.  
  
His grandfather walked out of the shrine on the summit and gazed at the scene that was taking place. "Tenchi, what are you doing here?" Katsuhito asked as he began to walk down the steps of the stone walkway that lead to the pair of people in front of him. He walked slowly, sensing the irregularity in the balance of his small world that he had built in Okinawa.  
  
"Tenchi... why are you here? How did you get here? You're supposed to be at college in America, what's going on?" the woman asked as she tried to regain her bearings. She had noticed a limp on him as he had approached and as she gazed upon his sandal-less foot, she breathed in sharply.  
  
It was apparent that he had done a lot of walking.  
  
"Did you walk here all the way from the airport? And how did you get the money for a flight?" Katsuhito asked cryptically. The boy held a broken sandal in one hand. His eyes moved to the foot the sandal belonged on; the boy's bare foot was crusted with blood and covered with dirt. "What could motivate you to come all the way here from another country without notifying us?" He had now moved close to the two people, but still he guarded himself from assuming anything about what might have happened.  
  
"Never mind that! You look horrible! Have you showered or eaten at all in the last couple of days? And we have to take care of that foot!" The woman's concern showed despite the questionable situation regarding Tenchi's visit.  
  
"I've screwed up." Tenchi blurted out staring into the eyes of the woman. "At school I met... I told you about my friend Sakuya." He looked for the confirmation in his family before continuing in something he barely had the courage to say.  
  
"Is she alright?" Katsuhito asked. "She isn't ill or hurt at all is she?"  
  
"No, it's not that... We have been dating lately," he said watching for any change in the woman. "I thought I loved her... and one day I felt ready to..." It was not embarrassment but shame that brought out his unwillingness to complete the sentence. "I was ready to have sex with her, and we did...." He did not wait for any response but continued. "Only that one time... on my birthday, but I was drunk... and the protection didn't work as well as it should have."  
  
The woman's blank stare was unwavering as she stared into his eyes. Even as her legs gave out, she continued to look into the depths of his eyes. Tenchi was about to react but his grandfather caught the woman and supported her.  
  
Tenchi looked at his grandfather and tears began to fall out of his eyes. For the first time in his life, Tenchi saw his grandfather surprised and confused and that only magnified his self-loathing and the intensity of tears coming out of his eyes. Katsuhito looked old and vulnerable, no longer displaying the total and complete confidence he had in everything he did.  
  
"Tenchi, what are you two going to do?" he asked in a weak voice that made Tenchi's heart break. He had never wanted to hurt those that he loved.  
  
"Sakuya wants to have an abortion... but I convinced her not to. I proposed to her but she rejected me... and since I almost have enough schooling for a certificate in education, I'll just end it there and hopefully get a job somewhere." Tenchi was silent afterwards.  
  
"You're going to raise the child yourself?" the woman asked.  
  
"The mother doesn't want anything to do with me or her child. I loved her... I still love her but I guess she's not who I thought she was. It was my decisions that affected the baby, and it's my responsibility to give it everything it deserves. So I'm going to sacrifice what I want and do this. I was just wondering if I could have your support. I haven't told anyone... and I feel... so bad inside. Like everything's coming down on me and I can't do anything." He had started crying in the beginning but now he lost all semblance of control and began to convulse with sobs, collapsing to the ground.  
  
"Of course we will Tenchi," the woman cried, tears coming out of her eyes, but her strength winning out. She contained her emotions and fell to the ground next to Tenchi. "I love you Tenchi, and I could never ever turn my back on my son, even if he is a moron sometimes." She had started crying but laughed at the end as she soothingly stroked the back of his head. She embraced him with her love, unsure of the future but sure that he would do right.  
  
"Mommy..." he cried as his body racked with sobs as he put his arms around her and let out his sadness.  
  
Katsuhito wiped the tear that had escaped his eyes and smiled despite his sadness remembering a similar situation years ago. "Like his mother, he will be an excellent parent."  
  
"Don't worry Tenchi," he whispered to the wind. "It'll be tough, but it will all turn out alright. And you'll find someone to help you carry the burden." He looked to the setting sun. "Someday we'll be sit up here and laugh about how this day happened. We'll talk about how it all turned out for the best. Someday..."

_**Excerpt From: The Brondoff Universal Guide special tri-Millennial edition- page 1,095,234 (hardcopy or e-book) or Holo-point FT%56 (Holo-novel)  
  
[Maelstrom Publishing, Planet Kelfath: Kabaan City 3,000,000 (1)GSYAT (Galactic Standard Years After Techan Revolution)]  
  
An Analysis of the (2)Scuth Empire: 2,300,987 GSYAT-present  
**  
This brings us to our next topic of discussion. The Prisons of the planet Iresia in the Scuth empire have often been referred to as a living hell. The prisons have no human workforce, save a warden who controls the robotic personnel. The outside of the prisons are a desert wasteland with such an electromagnetic current that only the most advanced ships equipped with finely tune electromagnetic dampeners can gain access to the atmosphere without losing power and crashing into the uninhabitable surface.  
  
The prisons are built on a planet that is totally uninhabited with life. It has wind levels that are so high that the prisons have walls 30 Galactic Standard Units (3)(GSU's) thick. There is no water on the planet and a supply ship comes yearly. Inside the prison, the only contact with people outside of you immediate cellmates is at a yearly gathering in which there is such activities as a call to family, a talent show and other recreational events,( designed to keep most of the cell mates sane) outside of a half an hour of daily weight training, and a weekly shower.  
  
Those that don't die or go insane (though the latter prerequisite is not always as important) are often employed in military operations. In fact, the royal guard of the (4)Scuth Mul'Hath (the emperor) consists entirely of those that survived the prison term. Yet after a personal encounter with such a man who survived, his dull and listless eyes, his brute strength yet lack of will and character has convinced me that the prisons have truly deserved their nickname: "Soul Killer."  
  
-Professor Wilmhelt Tragondoff (5)Universal Science Academy Department of Universal History _

Darkness. She inhaled it... she was saturated in it. It consumed her no matter how much she tried to escape its grasp. She gazed up to the dimly flickering ceiling light. It had a luminescent glow with a cold bluish tinge to it, and remained as ineffective as possible, barely illuminating anything in a place dedicated to casting light on a new socially acceptable lifestyle. The light remained as impersonal as possible just like everything in this god-forsaken place. Shadows crept over her face as she sat on the floor, her back slumped against the wall. The dark blue of the energy shield to her left side absorbed any of the light that her rundown fixture gave out, giving a depressing feel to an already dismal situation.  
  
Suddenly a foreign noise began to sound out through the wall. It had an almost artificial feeling to it that started out harsh, but as the player adjusted the intensity of his volume, it melded into a bittersweet melody. She recognized the sound almost instantly... a harmonica that someone had managed to smuggle into the prison. The woman sighed leaning her head back against the wall and stared at the ceiling, running a hand through her straight black hair.  
  
The tune was sad... a sort of nostalgic remembrance of how bad life had turned out. But somehow, it was also calming. Even in the horrible situation in which she lay, she breathed a content sigh and took solace in the small piece of mind she was receiving. It was unfair that she was in the place she was... The Iresian prisons were a place hardly fit for her. Although she was not necessarily innocent of her crimes, but she sure as heck hadn't been the one in charge of the smuggling ring. She had taken the fall for others and that had landed her a life sentence in the worst Galactic Union prison in the Universe. She closed her eyes and remembered how she had come to be in this place. She had a past full of deceit, betrayal and pain, herself mostly being the recipient of these feelings. She wasn't even sure how she had ended up in her current situation. It had all happened so fast.  
  
The player completed his song, his harmonica melting away into nothing. She felt a tinge of grief as the music stopped but the frown melded into a flickering smile as she heard the noise once more come through the wall. She immediately recognized the tune and began to hum, then sing the soft words. (6)"The Triumph of Jordana Winter," she whispered with a smile, licking her lips in excitement. It was a song written about the prison that had now become her home. It was a hopeful song written about the dire situation that they were in. She smiled as the harmonica recognized her voice and began to play louder along with her.  
  
_"Got sent to hell today, law man said I gotta stay,  
Till they tear out my heart, and they just right may,  
Give them no inchin', when times come to pay.  
Like Ol' Jordana Winter."  
_  
By the end of the first verse, she was bellowing out the tune heartily wishing that she had a beer in her hand and a bar room around her. She wasn't surprised when the inmates of the cells around her began to join in, sprouting down the line of the cellblock until the prison was bellowing the song, a lone harmonica doing all it could to accompany. They continued singing:  
  
_"They grab and they get what they want everywhere,  
And they beat us up, like they fuck'n care,  
But we'll 'fuck up there shit' and steal all there ware!  
Like Ol' Jordana Winter."_  
  
She laughed as they got to her and apparently everyone else's favorite part. They had been singing loudly but they shouted and whooped as they sang, "fuck up their shit and steal all their ware" bringing new intensity to the song. As the verse ended, silence grasped the gigantic building except for a little harmonica filling the void in the bridge between verses. However, it wasn't long before the voices picked up again.  
  
_"He was strong as a buck and a right good ol' guy,  
And he told us all that he'd leave fore he died,  
So he 'scaped from his cell and into the night.  
Did Ol' Jordana Winter.  
  
But a good guy was he so de did not leave right then,  
And he took back his gun and he grabbed him some men,  
And he took to the warden and shot him right dead,  
'Scaped Ol' Jordana Winter.  
  
And he took the wardens house and he that man's wife,  
And he said good old boys, now you keep up the fight,  
And one day they'll sing us, like we do him this night,  
When we're all like Jordana Winter."  
_  
They sang the song again and again till the warden sent the security bots down and activated the electric field in every cell, torturing them all for the song they had sung. But it didn't matter. It was their resilience... they'd one day be Jordana Winter.  
  
Her musical companion spoke out after she had emptied for stomach into the toilet in the corner... not that there was much of anything in her stomach. Electricity always had given her nausea but she doubted she would ever get used to vomiting. The toiled at least got rid of the stench... solitary confinement lacked even the comfort of a waste receptacle. They used such ancient technology in this place that it was almost unbearable surviving, but her week in solitary had been dehumanizing. However, she forgot about it as her neighbor began speaking.  
  
"That's quite a voice you got there. You're very talented.' She smiled at the compliment. "We should enter the talent show coming up."  
  
"Yeah I can see it now. We all break into verse when we start singing and pretty soon, the warden sends the bots down to fry us all. Thanks but no thanks, I value my life." She laughed at the end, still finding the ability to find an inkling of happiness in the horrible position she was in.  
  
"I don't know about that. You're a very talented individual. Ryoko right? Word is that you were in a tough smuggling ring... one of the best out there. I find that such a person would be very talented. By the way my name is Ota." He said everything with a hint of deeper meaning. His voice was sickeningly pleasant, dripping with so much sugar that Ryoko was beginning to crave something bitter to wash out the taste. She had just been relocated to a new cellblock, but it seemed she wouldn't be there for long. She'd either be free... or dead. Such was the punishment for attempted escape.  
  
"And when exactly is this talent show Ota?" She said, almost completely positive she knew what he was getting at.  
  
"Well our only chance is to enter is tonight. I think we might be good enough if you're up to singing "The Triumph of Jordana Winter" again, that is." She could feel his smile through the wall. Her mind's eye saw him with an almost sinister look, a glint of evil in his eyes, but she shook out the image. It was a prison... people didn't do good things to get in here, but if he was planning to escape and was willing to take her, she would most certainly jump on his offer.  
  
"My voice might be rusty, but it still works good enough for the talent show." She listened as the microphone in her cell crackled. Hopefully the warden wasn't picking up on anything. It would be interesting to see if he was smart enough to decipher their obvious code.  
  
"Well start singing," he murmured as his harmonica began to play the intro to the song of which had previously rose their spirits so much. The prisoners began to sing, but no one noticed when there was no musical accompaniment at the bridges of the song. Indeed, the harmonica player had other priorities as he reached into the wall where the cleverly concealed camera had been dug out, and switched the wire to display the viewing from the next cell over to both his and Ryoko's room. He wasn't expecting for his trick to work indefinitely... Just to buy some time. He then picked up his copy of the (7)Jurain Scriptures and opened the monstrous book, flipping through the pages until he came to a hole in the book, and reached inside only to pull a ring out of the thick book. He smiled to himself, as he observed that the pages had been made of and Intherian alloy, which was mandated by the Church of Jurai... it was just that this certain alloy, had an electromagnetic charge that masked that of the ring he had contained inside. The mandatory sweeps of the containment cells only displayed the faint aura of the book, not its contents. And the warden being a holy man, obsessed with (8)Tsunamism, the Jurain religion, he was more than content to leave such a book with the Ota. After all Ota was just an old man, trying to find salvation in the scriptures. And salvation he would find...  
  
As the prisoners completed the song, they started back up again as Ota had banked his plan on. He waited until they all shouted "fuck up their shit" in unison before putting the ring on his hand and touching it to the dark blue mass swirling in front of him. He bared the heat and pain of his actions, rewarded as the ring made a charging sound and the energy shield fizzled out of existence. No one had even noticed...  
  
He walked up to his accomplices shield, and in the same manner, deactivated the energy shield. Ryoko gasped as the mass of energy that she had been staring at disappeared. Immediately a thought jumped into her head... what about the camera?  
  
"Don't worry, I took care of the cameras already," Ota said sensing the question before she even could ask it. "Now grab anything you need and let's go." He didn't look anything like she had expected finally taking him in with her eyes. He was an old man... far different than his vibrant voice had suggested and he looked incredibly feeble.  
  
"Thanks," she muttered as she stood up and walked out of her cell. If she had paid attention, she might have smelled the gas from the leaking gas line inside Ota's cell and she might have associated that danger with the heat that was given off by the electric fields generators. Upon further analysis, she might have associated the fact that the prisoners were singing loud enough to receive the punishment of the electric fields. She was a smart individual as well... she could have easily realized that the energy from the electricity and the heat from the generator would be enough to ignite the gas, but she was singly focused and she did not notice any of this when she walked out of her cell.  
  
"Where to Ota?" she managed to ask over the racket of the prisoners. The old man pointed her to the center of the compound. To say she was surprised would have been an understatement.  
  
"What do you mean? We're not going into the fucking lions den where the security's tightest. Shouldn't we go to somewhere less protected like on of the outer wings of the building and try and get through a wall or something?" She had no real plan, but anything was better than what this senile old coot was suggesting.  
  
"Listen," the man, said with authority. "I found a message detailing Jordana's plan for escape in a book in the library. He said the key to escape was the center of the camp. He also had detailed what part of the prison had the weakest walls for digging out the camera's and to do it when the electric field was on since the magnetism created by the electricity. Everything that has allowed us to get this far has worked, so I say we trust him." With that, he began to walk down the cellblock towards the heart of the detention center.  
  
"Wait... he's real?" She asked, her mouth gaping. She had thought he was only a figure to bring hope.  
  
The man turned around with the same sinister smile. "I've actually met him. He told me where to find everything just in case it worked for him... I saved him in the showers in my younger years from a couple of 'friends'." He continued walking not waiting for her accompaniment.  
  
Ryoko remained silent but followed the old man. Needless to say, she was beginning to feel much worse about the whole thing. How had that man managed to stumble across Jordana's plans? And going into the center of the compound was suicide... but then again, the idea of escape from the most secure prison in the universe was just as suicidal.  
  
"Fuck it," she said to herself and followed the man down the corridor. Whatever would come, she would accept and deal with, but this lead was as good as any. She didn't trust the old man, but he hadn't proved himself false as of yet. She watched as the dark blue rows of cells, ended and they walked through a passage by the exercise rooms and the gigantic room used for the yearly celebration.  
  
They continued until they came entered into the central area. "Alright young lady, are you ready to sing?" the old man asked suddenly grabbing her arm as she continued walking. "This is highly secured, so watch out. Just look at the numbers."  
  
She focused harder on the space in front of her, ands suddenly it was as if a light turned on. A solid red wall stuck out in front of her. "This is the (9)G74 containment system... we had one installed at are base," she said as she looked at the numbers he was pointing to. "Nobody could get through this... not even I could do it. It's impossible... What the hell would you have me do?"  
  
"Just a favor for me," the man laughed, pushing her towards the red energy field. She lost her balance and toppled towards the laser sensor. The sensor would cause no damage to her, but it would trigger the automated defenses. The walls were living with defensive technology as likely was the entire central compound. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as she felt herself falling closer to her death. 'I guess I have no choice...' she thought desperately.  
  
Blood began to drip onto the floor from the woman's left arm. The skin tore away and something floated out of her arm, the object glowing faintly. A perfect maroon jewel hovered in mid air parallel to where her arm, now was bleeding pretty heavily . It was as if the gem had come out of her skin. The gem floated from her forearm and fell into a golden necklace that hung from her neck. It was odd, completely mismatched with her grey prison uniform but the reason for it now stood out as the entire necklace began to glow. It was almost as surprising as the fact that she had been able to hold on to such an item for as long as she had.  
  
Ota watched calculatingly as she vanished, disappearing from the reality that he knew. It seemed as if she was gone forever, in a freak occurrence that was beyond physical law. However, that notion was swiftly kicked aside as he felt himself tumbling into the wall, struck from his right side. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" an enraged Ryoko screamed her hand recoiling from the punch she had just dealt.  
  
"You were the one that lied..." She stopped everything. She didn't breathe and dared not move. "You said you couldn't get through there when you could teleport all along."  
  
"How did you know what I could do?" She demanded, venom lacing every word. She watched as he merely smiled, brushing himself off and then standing while rubbing his jaw.  
  
"Are you kidding, everyone was vying for that prototype. (10) After the Cerulean Empire fell... my home world... everyone knew the rumor of the teleportation system that the government had been able to develop but never managed to employ. Then I heard one of the scientists, trying to get off the world, stole it. After the Jurains destroyed our world, it became a poor wasteland, total anarchy ruling. And everyone was trying to get off... word was he traded it to a smuggle daring enough to lift him off that junk heap of a planet. When I managed to steal an old military ship and jet off, I heard of a smuggler who could disappear into thin air by the name of Ryoko. I only assumed it was the prototype." He all the time had been approaching her. He now stood right in front of her. She drew back in surprise, as a little fear came into her being.  
  
"Cerulean?" she asked trying to put up a brave front. "You don't look Cerulean..." Indeed his pale old body looked nothing of the tan forms of the Ceruleans. She was tense, glaring at him with a calculating eye.  
  
"Relax, it's not like I want to steal, it, I just want you to be truthful and get us outside. Quit with the bull shit, and get us into the central main hall." He stopped for a moment, smiling at her. "My last name's Gak which is obviously Cerulean. And we as a people lose a lot of our natural color if we stay away from the planet as long as I have. I'm sorry for the trouble, but we can't afford not to be honest with each other." She nodded, still very untrusting but admitting her own reluctance for truth.  
  
"Fine," she angrily agreed and stepped up next to him. She touched his shoulder and the world blurred, refocusing as a grand hall, with a gigantic ceiling. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed at all the bots on stand-by and robotic docking interfaces all around. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me? That must be every bot in this fucking place!" As if to answer her, the robots began to hum to life.  
  
"Hurry," Ota shouted as the robots in the room focused on them. He could practically hear the warden screaming for his underlings to destroy both him and the girl. "Help me lift this up," he said as he moved towards the center of the floor and crouched over the Iresian prison insignia. He felt on the floor coming across the notch and looked over to see the bots at there substations, switching to attack mode and equipping weapons. The woman got on the other side of him, and found the notch on her side, pulling up with all her might. The slab came up and they moved it on to the rest of the floor the heavy substance leaving both of them exhausted.  
  
"Let's go," he signaled as laser blasts began to decorate the room. He jumped down into the dark hole they had revealed. Ryoko hesitated only for a moment before following the old man. She felt the world pass her by, as she plummeted down into the abyss, her mind sure that she would not survive. Much to her surprise however, her body began to slow down and she could see a purple glow under her. The darkness of which she had fallen had terrified her, but as she came to an almost complete stop and landed easily on the ground, she began to smile.  
  
So they had installed a (11)Gravitational Fluctuator. Well that explained why she was still living. This must have been some sort of escape hatch for the warden in case of revolt. She looked around to the supplies, and her eyes set upon the ship. "So this is how Jordana escaped..." she said to herself. She felt the ship rumble to life, vibrating the ground under her.  
  
Ota's head popped up out of the loading bay of the ship and he waved her in. "Hurry up! We're getting out of here." She didn't have to give it a second thought as she ran into the ship and followed the old man to the bridge. The ship was just a small thing, a light green tinge on the exterior, masked by the blue glow of the thrusters. They passed though the light gray interior of the hall to a room, covered in dust. The computers looked incredibly inferior, but still capable. The lights on the consoles were pulsating and Ota sat down at the main controls.  
  
The ship lurched forward as he angled a joystick down and began to go through a dimly lit hallway. Ryoko gazed at the monitors showing the passing lights, as they traveled through the tunnel. "Brace yourself," Ota warned as she gazed to what he was seeing in front of him... a closing doorway.  
  
She barely had time to grab onto something before the ship heaved as it tore through the fully closed door. The high winds of the planet immediately began pounding the ship and Ryoko barely managed to sit down and strap herself into a seat.  
  
Ota smiled to himself... it was bout this time that the warden would out of anger punish the prisoners... meaning and incredibly high voltage shock...  
  
In the computer room of the Prisons of Iresia, a small chubby man grinded his teeth in seething rage. "DAMN IT!" he swore. "You bastards!" He watched his monitors trace the receding view of the ship.  
  
"You're all going to pay," he declared ordering the activation of the electric fields, as he switched to the singing prisoners. "You're all gonna fucking die!"  
  
He was unaware as to how right he was, as the leaking gas ignited and spread down the gas main. "Oh shit," he managed to mutter before the entire compound erupted in flames, the explosion destroying the incredibly thick walls.  
  
The ship rattled with more fury than Ryoko expected. "What?" she wondered aloud as she turned around and activated the rear video display. She gazed upon the burning wreckage of the destroyed compound. "What the hell?" Her voice became weak as she turned to the man in front of her. There was a sickening thud as a gloved hand came in contact with her, immediate confusion and pain clouding her mind. She went headfirst backwards into the floor, the force of the punch so great that after the back of her head smashed into the unforgiving metal ground, her body pivoted over her head, the inertia carrying her to the ground stomach first. She slid back on the floor leaving a trail of blood and crumpled on the wall she impacted with. She gazed up at the man as darkness began to impede her vision. She should have known... Ota Gak...  
  
His old balding head had been replaced with flowing white locks. In place of tarnished and mole covered skin was a pure pristine white. His wrinkles had melted away into a youthful complexion, and she could not help but think he had grown in height. Yellow eyes completed the picture as the man she had escaped with began laughing insanely. "Really my dear Ryoko, you are far too amusing."  
  
She struggled to stand, her body feeling impossibly heavy. She was so fucking stupid, and he just flouted it in front of her. The egomaniac couldn't have resisted. Ota Gak...  
  
(12)"KAGATO!" she attempted to scream though his name came out pathetically weak for the effort. He merely continued his boisterous laughter, beginning to approach her. She watched him flicker in and out of different color schemes finally settling to grey, as her vision began to disappear Any chance of her continued consciousness was lost as he kicked her head ferociously, it smacking the wall lifting her entire upper body up onto to crash back and fall to the floor, her body in an unnatural position. She looked twisted and broken on the ground, which only stood to delight her captor. He reached to her neck unlocking the clasp on the necklace that she had prized.  
  
"Why my dear Ryoko, you shouldn't have," he said in his deep, slightly insane voice. "But I shall make good use of this. You never understood the possibilities of this," he said cradling the necklace in his hand, and bringing it up to his face.  
  
"What," he suddenly exclaimed as he lost control of his hands functions. He couldn't move it... no matter what he did. Suddenly his hand began to glow, pain shooting up his arm in waves of torture. "WHAT DID YOU DO, YOU STUPID WENCH," he exclaimed as the gem began to shine blindingly. In a flash, the gem necklace and his hand had disappeared.  
  
"Very childish, my dear," he said, his annoyance plainly written on his face. "But futile none the less. I'll just have to find it, that's all." A green glow began to caress bloody stump and as the blood evaporated and a new hand formed, instantly.  
  
"Much better," he said making a fist and collecting his composure. "All in vain my dear... what?" Pain began to envelop him even more than before as his wrist and hand disappeared, the wound fully cauterized but extremely painful. "You programmed the thing with defense mechanisms?" he said, accusing unconscious woman. "What did you do?" He put his good hand on his temples and started to massage his head in thoughts.  
  
"Very clever, very clever." He approached her limp body, his voice laughing as he realized what she had done. "VERY CLEVER!" His voice erupted into anger spontaneously, a far cry from the calm, cunning tone he had contained before. He kicked her body so that it flew into the air, hit the wall and slid back down, leaving a trail of blood from her head.  
  
"You set it up to create a permanent teleportation field around my hand... and any time I use energy to reconstruct my hand, your little field activates, using the energy to teleport the matter to the necklace. It gets bigger every time as well, taking away more of my body..." He growled out the explanation as he worked it out in his head.  
  
"I shall destroy you," he said, bending down, and tightly grasping her throat, cutting off airflow. "You shall pay my dear, pity you shall be alone in death."  
  
"Kagato," a male voice said, starling Kagato enough so that his grip eased. "What are you doing Kagato. She is to be alive!" The man roared with frustration, Kagato suddenly feeling foolish.  
  
"I understand," the white haired man said as he stood up. He turned to the source of the voice and approached a video screen with a distorted visual. Most likely, it was not the reception but a purposeful distortion... Kagato had never actually seen what the man he had come to serve looked like.  
"The compound is destroyed... the GP will not be investigating her disappearance." He laughed a bit as he gazed back at his fallen captive.  
  
"She was destroyed with the others apparently, in that freak explosion. Our dear Ryoko is no longer living, and specimens without life can be done with as we please." The man on the other end of the conversation obviously liked Kagato's report, laughing over the microphone.  
  
"We were unable to get the teleportation device..."  
  
"THEN YOU WILL OBTAIN IT!" the man yelled, cutting off his servant. Kagato glared at the screen, unmoving. "However," the voice dictated, returning to a calm tone, "since we have our smuggling princess, we are in business. She has always been the target... always. We shall rendezvous later."  
  
"Yes, master." Kagato sighed as the transmission ended. Their elaborate scheme to obtain the woman who had evaded his boss for her entire lifetime had finally succeeded. They had purposely placed him in the prisons, after hunting down Jordana Winter... a respectable man now living as a priest. A saint of a man really... he had certainly turned his life around. Kagato smirked as he remembered their meeting. Jordana had been amusing, even up until he died from torture. He had been amusing, and given them their data on escape.  
  
A couple of pulled strings had landed him in the slammer with the necessary tools, in a cell next to his dear, sweet, Ryoko. And he ended up with her, shipping her to a place to spend the rest of her days. If anything, he took solace in the fact that her life would be hell from now on.  
  
"Ryoko, one day you will pay for what you have done to me. One day my dear, we shall sing out a beautiful song, as you lay at my feet and your head adorns my dinner table. Yes, you shall make a truly splendid center piece." With that, he turned, his black cape billowing out as he left the bridge, and the woman.  
  
Teetering on the edge of consciousness, she turned her head and stared at the door he had left by, through slitted eyed. She laughed in victory, her body burning with pain. As the ship continued out of the system, only one thing circulated her cloudy mind. Her words came as a silent whisper, but laced with venom and sarcasm denoting her hate for the man. Only one thought about the man that had beaten her kept repeating as consciousness left her: "You fucking idiot."  
  
(To be continued...)  
  
**Omake Theater:  
**  
**Random Omake 1:   
**  
Tenchi:narrating I was not sure if she would ever know, but it hurt me much more than it ever could hurt her to betray her trust as I had..  
  
Tenchi: You know my friend Sakuya... well we started dating and I was... ready to have sex and then... I was really drunk and the protection didn't work as well as it should have.  
  
Achika: hugs him Oh Tenchi, baby, I'm so sorry son. It's okay, I'll help you raise the child. I was this age when I had you and I know what it's like.  
  
Tenchi:sweatdrop What are you talking about? Sakuya's not pregnant.  
  
Girl: mystified But what about protection?  
  
Tenchi:starts sobbing I forgot the safety word! Image of Sakuya in a dominatrix get up comes to mind, and the tears run like wildfire... yeah... he cries... like wildfire  
  
Achika faints as Tenchi sobs even more  
  
Katsuhito:Tea magically appears and he sips it as wisely as one can sip tea Ah yes, reminds me of the old proverb: "S and M is like Hemorrhoids, you don't want the news of it to be public, and god damn does it hurt to sit down afterwards."  
  
Tenchi: still sobbing But seriously, I know she likes Trigun but how am I supposed to say Valintenez Xifax Sicidabohertz Gumbigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrente Andre Charton-Haymoss Pierre Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser the third... let alone when I'm drunk  
  
Thank you to the otakus who put this line on the message board just so I could reap the benefits of vash's "real name"... (this line is from when Vash meets wolfwood)  
  
**Random Omake 2:  
**  
After being punched by Ota, she glances up to see his true form... not of that of a mild mannered old man with some issues with gas (bad pun not intended but I might as well take credit for it) but of  
  
Random Man starts humming off screen: Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh  
  
THE HULK  
  
Ryoko: Great... now what the fuck do I do... consults "Worst Case Scenario book"  
  
Kagato/The HULK  
  
Random Man off screen: Dun nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh  
  
:MUWUWAHWUAH!  
  
Ryoko: Hold on a second... I guess so. She goes into the cargo hold, grabs a goose and puts it up The HULK's  
  
Man: Dun nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh  
  
pants. 

The HULK  
  
Man: Dun nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh  
  
Changes back into the old man. Ota: Umm... that was strange.  
  
Ryoko: Yeah  
  
Ota: Well this is awkward... I'm gonna go now...  
  
Ryoko:... okay... good luck and all.  
  
Ota: Yeah same to you.  
  
Ryoko: Hold on lemme go get a piano.  
  
Starts playing a sad theme on it  
  
Suddenly Ota is walking down a road hitchhiking  
  
Ota: Hey isn't it the sad theme from the end of the HULK?  
  
Man: Dun nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh

  
**Notes:   
**  
1:GSYAT- (Galactic Standard Years After Techan Revolution) Unit of Measurement, Galactic Standard. It stands for the number of years using the Techan Revolution, that is, the first space flight of a civilization as an origin.  
  
2:The Scuth empire is a smaller empire but nonetheless, due to it's large amounts of natural resources, it is a major player in the events regarding the balance of the universe. The empire is constantly at arms with the Empire of Jurai, but due to the Jurain Empire's reliance on Scuth resources, they are often forced to play at the whim of the much less powerful empire. Scuth exports include a variety of high purity organic fuels that have become the galactic standard in ship propulsion. The efficiency has been purposely degraded, for further profits, however military often receive VIP treatment and more efficient fuel for higher prices. This is another issue since Jurai tree ships aren't reliant on fuel, like other militaries. Due to their good relations with the GP, for the maximum-security Iresian prisons, they also have a major footing in Universal issues.  
  
3: GSU: A Galactic Standard Unit for Measurement. It is roughly equivalent to 2.3 yards in earth terms. This increased size is mainly due to the thickness required in developing ships for interplanetary flight, which have incredibly thick walls.  
  
4: The Scuth like Jurains have instituted a monarchy, however, the system operates on a rotational system in which Mul'Hath's are elected for 1000 years, however, every 111 years change, each one getting the same salary. Therefore, three are elected, and birthright is non-existent. The most popular at time of election is given a final 112 year term to make it an even 1000. Only occupy the title of Mul'Hath while currently emperor. Sash' Hath is the title given while awaiting term of leadership. Mul' Hath means Most Leadership, and Sash Hath means lesser leadership in ancient Scuth.  
  
5:The Universal Science Academy is a non-partisan institution with as much political power as an empire. It is the Galactic epitome of education and requires on average, at least 300 years of schooling for acceptance. Their teaching staff are amongst the brightest minds in the universe, and are the authority on many decisions taken by the Universal United Coalition. The UUC is a non-partisan government that operates with a representative of every major empire. It was established after the Great Cerulean War to promote peace. Incredibly new, it has enjoyed much success during it's short lifespan of less than 20 Galactic Standard Years.  
  
6: "The Triumph of Jordana Winter". Credited to Marcus Iyaki. Written as a bar song, common at seedy joints, that has a cult following with the ruffians and lower social life forms in the universe.  
  
7:The Jurain Scriptures are often referred to as the bridge between the Water of Life and the tree of Life. The water is often considered to be the people of the Tsunamaic faith, and the Tree is Tsunami, their patron god. The mandate that the book be made from Itherian alloy is associated with the story that Tsunami when the settlers first came to Jurai, reinforced their homes with this divine material in order to protect them from the harsh weather that plagued the planet. Only after the development of weather control through Tsunami's divine intervention, was inhabitability made easy and appealing.  
  
8: Tsunamism is the belief that the Goddess Tsunami is the creator of Jurai and her people. It is said that through her worship and respect, and obeying her teachings, that one who dies passes on into the gardens of Itheria (where the name for the metal alloy is derived from) which is an eternal paradise.  
  
9:The G74 security system is the top of the line Security detail, incapable of penetration. The sensors are the highest quality and the defensive measures are almost overboard. No one has ever survived a G74, which is why they brandish their slogan so proudly, "No unwanted intruders, and no clean up." Indeed, the very flesh of the intruder is demolished so much that they become little more than dust... which is handled by the optional vacuum attachment.  
  
10:Not much is known of the once existing Cerulean Empire. They were a very isolationist empire that created a war machine bent on taking over all of Jurai in the search for materials. Allied with Scuth empire for resources (a source of further conflict between the Scuth and Jurai) however were destroyed when their plans were found out. They were decimated by a surprise attack by the Jurai people. It was later found out that they were running out of resources and there planet was dieing therefore they were hoping to transfer to the Jurain planets. Today, it is a wasteland that no one visits. It operates by gang warfare, and is in a state of chaotic anarchy. They use to have some of the most intelligent minds, and sent many students off to the Universal Science Academy but now they lay in ruin. Very little is known of the prototypes necklace- teleportation device, which now resides with the smuggler Ryoko.  
  
11:The Gravitational Fluctuator is a device that alters the force of gravity to a negative extent therefore slowing down the falling object by pushing back once in range. They have now become advanced enough to acquire targets and control descent allowing for targets to jump from incredibly high distances only to land peacefully on the ground.  
  
12:Not much is known about Kagato. A class S criminal, he is wanted for many thefts of ancient texts and also is known for the destruction of the Eastern Quadrant of the Universal Science Academy 21 years ago. Currently employed to obtain the smuggler Ryoko for unknown reasons.  
  
**Author's Notes:**  
  
So that's my little prologue. There will be a change of pace in the next chapter, but hopefully you are all enthralled by my beginning. If not, give the next chapter a chance or don't... you're free to do whatever. I have the next chapter outlined, however only 3 pages are written. It will most likely be a while but I should have it out within a month at the most.  
  
Reviews are always appreciated and are honestly part of the reason I write. I enjoy praise... sue me. I'm not gonna feign bravado and give you, I write for myself, BS.  
  
Hopefully I've given you something interesting to read. That was my goal since I have found Tenchi fanfiction as of late to be terribly boring. I have another couple ideas floating around my head but haven't managed to put any down. You can reach me by email at Corbon Dallasathotmail.com (corbon[bottom line]dallas at hotmail.com) or by Instant Messenger at Corbondallas2. I guess that's it... any criticism would be nice, but I'm not picky. Just drop me a line if you like it or hate it... hopefully some good will come out of it. Anyways talk to you later.  
  
_I remain, Ladies and Gentlemen,   
Your Obedient Servant, T.D.   
The Theatre of Dreams, Esquire_


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